Modern passenger aircraft may have significant power and communication requirements while on the ground, which is handled by a ground system that includes power and in some cases data communications cables that are removably coupled to the aircraft. The ground system provides electrical power to the aircraft while the aircraft engines are powered down. The ground system also provides communication capabilities between a data network at the airport and an onboard data network of the aircraft.
Often, the ground system power cables are heavy and difficult to manipulate and connect to the aircraft due to the size of the cable that is needed to support the high-power requirements of modern aircraft. In addition, ground system communication cables that connect the ground system to the aircraft are not common, and when available they are separate cables that are subject to damage.
In some cases, communications from the ground system may be used to interface with various data networks onboard the aircraft. For example, the ground system may be used to update the software on avionic systems onboard the aircraft that control the operation of the aircraft. This may pose a security threat in some cases. For example, hacking the avionics onboard the aircraft using an unauthorized ground system may put passengers onboard the aircraft at risk during flight operations. In addition, providing power to the aircraft using an unauthorized ground system may cause damage to the power systems onboard the aircraft, which may also put the passengers at risk during flight operations. It is therefore desirable to provide security for power and/or data communications provided by a ground system to the aircraft.